Last week was the final week of December for the perspective of these summaries. With the exception of the Nikkei, all of the majors made gains.
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up by 3.3%, it closed at 6254.6, closing up by 0.26 over the month; the Dax ended at 10727, up by 1.1% on last week’s close, but slipping by 0.23% in December; the CAC was up by 0.82% to end the session at 4663.2%, but it fell by 1.1% over the month.
The Dow ended the week up by 2.5% to close at 17552, it fell by 1.7% over the month. The Nasdaq composite index ended up by 2.6% over the course of the week at 5048.5, but slipped by 1.8% in December.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading down by 1.2% to end the session at 18769, it fell by 3.8% over the month.
Currency Markets Review
On the currency markets last week, the Euro enjoyed the best of the trading. The Dollar was stronger against Sterling last week closing at $1.4838 to the Pound, a gain of 0.49% on the week and 1.8% over the month. The Greenback fell against the Euro last week by 1.1% to close at $1.0966 to the €, slipping by 0.77% in December. The Dollar was weaker against the Japanese currency, closing at 120.3 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.81% during the week and 2.3% over the month.
The Euro was stronger against the Yen ending at 131.9, a gain of 0.29% over the course of the week, but it fell by 1.6% over the month. It made ground against Sterling last week, rising by 1.6%; the close saw one £ buying €1.3530, a gain of 2.5% during December.
The Euro now buys 1.0834 CHF, a gain of 0.48% on the week, but a slip of 0.33% over the month.
Commodities Market Review
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $37.89 per barrel, a gain of 2.7% over the course of the week’s trading, but a fall of 11.9% in December. The value of gold was higher last week, closing at $1077.8 per ounce, a gain of 1.2% on the week, but a decline of 0.83 in December.